AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan confirmed it has secured necessary funding to deploy 45 to 60 satellites into orbit by 2026, supporting the launch of services in the US later this year before expanding to Europe, Japan and other strategic markets.

In a company update Avellan said it had six satellites in orbit today. Five are fully operational and one test satellite is for commercial and government applications.

It plans to ramp up significantly in the coming months.

The company has completed assembly of microns for phased arrays of eight Block 2 BlueBird satellites, “and we are on target to complete 40 satellites equivalent of microns by early 2026 to support full voice, data and video space-based cellular broadband services”.

Intermittent services in the US will begin at the end of 2025, followed by the UK, Japan and Canada in Q1 the following year, “with planned orbit launches every one or two months on average during 2025 and 2026″, added Avellan.

On the FM1 prototype satellite, which has faced two delays, the company said it will be ready to ship this month, but a launch date was not confirmed. It will become AST SpaceMobile’s seventh satellite in orbit.

Avellan also referenced the recent purchase of S-Band spectrum, stating it now has a path for premium spectrum on a global basis.

From the second half of 2025, it maintained expectations for revenue to hit $50 million to $75 million, generated from government and commercial customers.